The association, led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patricia Pillay, has announced they are submitting an urgent Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to the National Covid-19 Command Council (NCCC) seeking access to the empirical data and scientific evidence that the council used that links alcohol consumption with increased hospital admissions.

Basa says in their statement “that the latest alcohol ban, which has been in place since the 28th of June, has already served a devastating blow to the alcohol industry, putting an estimated 4603 jobs at risk as well as potential loss of R5.1 billion in taxes and excise duties”.

Pillay asked on the OFM Business Hour 1 week into the fourth ban: to what end will alcohol be prohibited due to rising Covid-19 numbers? President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assurance during his address on Sunday, 11 July, that government will avail the COVID-19 TERS to sectors hardest hit by the Adjusted Alert Level 4 COVID-19 restrictions has done nothing to temper the industry’s anger. Pillay says the industry has not received much relief from the Covid-19 Ters in previous phases with most applications being declined or some being returned with commentary about businesses not meeting the requirements for it.

The Basa CEO further adds that they as an association and industry have sent motivations for deferments and proposals for availing additional vaccination sites at their centres to help government with their vaccination programme, but to date there has been no reply. She says that they are told their proposals and recommendations get sent to the NCCC for consideration, but they do not know if these recommendations reach the council in light of the lack of a response.

The South African Breweries which was seeking to have the ban overturned via a legal challenge has declared its support for Basa’s PAIA application. Meanwhile liquor outlets and businesses are being viciously targeted in the violent looting and unrest that has engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. SA Breweries has condemned the looting.